Herbert stewart cawthorn



(No Model.)

H S CAWTHORN BUTTONHOLE ATTACHMENT.

No. 531,776 Patented Jan. 1, 1895.

IN VENT OR WI T NESS S ATTORNEYS UNiTED STATES EATENT BUTTONHOLEATTACHMENT.

SPEGIFICATION'forming part of Letters Patent No. 531,776, dated January1, 1895.

Application filed July 2, 1894. Serial No. 516,317. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, HERBERT STEWART CAWTHQRN, a subject of the Queen ofGreat Britain, and a resident of New York, in the county of New York andState of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inButtonhole Attachments, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to devices applicable to shirts and othergarments, and has for its object to provide an attachment which may beinstantaneously secured to the garment and will serve as a button-holetherefor.

The invention is primarily designed for use upon shirts, the neckbutton-holes of which not infrequently burst before the remainder of theshirt is so far worn as to be unserviceable, and as these are notreadily repaired, the shirt is usually thrown away. Such breakagemoreover causes great inconvenience and discomfort if occurring Whilethe shirt is being worn, or where another is not procurable.

By the use of my invention, which consists in the novel inventiveconstruction and arrangement of parts hereinafter fully described, asimple, cheap and readily operated means is provided whereby anindestructible andv rigid buttonhole may at once be secured to the shirtupon and in the stead of the broken one, and by means of which,furthermore, a shirt having a neclcband of too great or too slightcircumference may, by the mere application and adjustment of one or moreof the attachments, be caused to fit the neck of the wearer with thedesired degree of tightness.

In the accompanying drawings: Figure l is a perspective View, taken fromthe rear, of a shirt having attached thereto a device embodying myinvention. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the device detached andopened. Fig. 3 is a section of the same taken upon the line :c-9c Fig.2. Fig. 4: is a similar view to Fig. 1, of a shirt having one of thedevices secured upon each end of the neck-band thereof, the size of thesaid band having been increased by placing one of the devices upon theextreme edge thereof to project beyond the same appreciably. Fig. 5isaperspective view of a modified form, opened.

In the practice of my invention, I construct a plate A of any desiredshape, preferably of suihcient length to more than cover a shirt bandvertically. Upon the under surface of this plate, I form spurs or teetha, which may be most advantageously produced by punching the plate inits upper face. Hinged to this plate A at the top, by the hinge h,0r anyother suitable means, is a plate B, conforming in shape to the first,though such ofcourse is not essential. This plate B has formed upon thefree end thereof a spring lug 0r clasp c, with which the end of theouter plate A engages when pressed downwardly. The said lug serves tomaintain the two plates securely together when in position upon thegarment, thereby causing the teeth or spurs a to bear against the plateB, and grip the material intervening the same. Any other approved formof fastening maybe employed, such as that shown in Fig. 5, wherein thereis provided a laterally turned hook 01 upon the inner plate B,and a pine upon the outer plate A, adapted to engage with, and rest beneath, thehook.

Projecting at right angles from the outer plate A is a strip or flange 0preferably formed integrally with the said plate and having its junctiontherewith below the hinge on. Approximately at the end of the flange Cis an aperture 0', circular, elliptical or otherwise shaped, and of suchsize as to receive therein a collar or other button according to the usefor which the particular form of the device constructed is intended.While I have shown this button-hole flange O as attached to the outerplate A, the same, as well as the spurs or teeth u, might instead beformed upon the inner plate B, it being perspicuous, however, that asthe inner plate bears against the neck of the wearer, perfection isapproached by rendering the latter as small and as smooth surfaced 'aspossible.

In Fig. 5 I have illustrated a modification in which the-plates A and Bare of somewhat narrower form. The catch is slightly varied as beforedescribed, and the button-hole or aperture 0' is formed by securing tothe plate A, in place of the flange O, a wire loop D, the two sides ofwhich are pressed or clinched together approximately midway of its endsto prevent too considerable lateral movement of the button therein.

The operation of my improved attachment will be readily nnderstoodfromthe foregoing description taken inconnection with the accompanyingdrawings; -Should either of the button-holes in the neck-band of a shirtor other garment burst, the device is immediately secured to the saidband by'pla'cing'the same thereon, with the inner plate B beneath, andthe outer plate A above, the said band, at such distance'from the endthereof as to leave the aperture in alignment with the formerbutton-hole: The fabric of the shirt below the band is then pierced topermit the,

r lug o to pass therethrough, and the outer plate is pressed against theinner plate till the two are locked togetherby thesaid lug. Thispiercing of the shirt is not, however,

' obligatory, it being possible, unless the fabric is exceptionallycoarse or heavy, to clamp the" platestogether with the cloth interveningI their junction. The device being thus affixed to the'band, theusualbutton or stud maybepassed through theapertnre Ci, as through anordinary button-hole, in the stead of which the attachment will serve,and perfectly perform its functions; and should both button-holes of theshirt be destroyed, a duplicate of the device before described issecured tothesec- 0nd button-hole, the flange of such counter partattachment, however, projecting from the plate in adirection therefromopposite that of its fellow device, in order that when applied to ashirt, the flanges thereof will'range inwardly or toward each other andboth apertures G align. In practice, when the'invention is constructedfor use upon shirts, the

devices aremanufactured and sold in pairs,

in each of which oneof the flanges pointsto' the right and the other tothe left.

A peculiar and novel advantage of my invention is that should one be inpossession of a shirt the neck band of which is of too large or toosmall size, as often is the case with a garment borrowed temporarily inthe absence of ones own, the same may be caused to fit the neck of thewearer as neatly as would the proper sized garment, by adjusting theposition of the attachment farther toward oraway 7 from the end of theband, as the case mayrequire; This feature is illustrated in Fig.4,

wherein the shirtband has been enlarged V by extending the flange 0 ofone of the at V tachments beyond the, position of the originalbutton-hole.

I do not'confine myselfrto the exactformal tion of parts and details ofconstruction herein set forth, as the same may be chan gcd or varied inmany particulars,as circumstances require or render desirable. y r

Having thus :fullysdescribed my invention, what I'claim as new, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A buttonhole attachment for fabrics, comprisingabase plate havingafriction sur- 7 face and a lateral extension provided withan aperturein its end, and a second plate de,--

pending from the first plate and adapted to clamp a fabric thereagainst,said'depending plate having a locking lug to engage thefirst plate. ,7 VV I 2. An adjustable button hole attachment for-fabricseomprisingabase-plate havinga friction surface, and a lateral narrowed extensionprovided with an aperture formed to receive the head of a button andretain the shank thereofagainst lateral movement, a

second plate pivoted to'the first plate and adapted to clamp the fabricthereagainstand alocking lug on the pivoted'plate, adapted ,to be passedthrough thefabric, in engagementwith the first plate, substantiallyasdescribed.

'In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I have signedmy name,-in presence of two witnesses, this 26th day of June, 1894.

HERBERT STEWART OAWTIIORN.

' Witnesses:

PERCY T. GRIFFITH, L. KAUFMAN.

